Passionate about Screen Writing

Saskia Sutton

Saskia's mother Heather Sutton was a pioneer female documentary filmmaker, making a documentary about a Down's Syndrome young man 'Michael' whilst living in Suffolk in the late 50's for the BFI.Heather was also commissioned to make a documentary about her husband, the painter Philip Sutton for BBC's Monitor programme in the 60's when the family lived on the Fijian Island of Levuka.Being breastfed in a cutting room in Wardour Street was probably as good a reason as any to become a filmmaker!

Saskia started in film and TV production working for the Director/Producer Tony Palmer (Wagner, Maria Callas).She worked as his runner on the ITV series ‘All You Need is Love’. Her job was to ‘run’ and make the tea. She finds not much has changed in the intervening years.Still in her teens and whilst she was secretary to the producer Graham Benson on the TV series ‘Fox’ (starring newcomer Ray Winstone) she produced and was camerawoman of the short film ‘Regatta’.Shown that year at the London Film Festival. This period of production work started her career as an experienced ‘hands on’ producer. Developing a knowledge of the production process from the ground up.

Saskia has been a Production Executive for a number of decades in Features, Commercials and Documentaries.She has worked as a Producer with directors like:Nic Roeg (Don’t Look Now, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Walkabout),Gillies McKinnon(Whisky Galore, Regeneration, Hideous Kinky) and Howard Guard (Smirnoff, YSL, Braun)and screenwritersHugh Stoddart (Waiting For You),Michael Allin (Enter the Dragon) andAllan Scott (Don't Look Now, Performance).

She was Executive Producer of the Pat Barker WW1 novel ‘Regeneration’ starring Jonathan Pryce and Jonny Lee Miller. Also called “Behind The Lines”.

‘Regeneration’ won the Herald Angel Award at the 1997 Edinburgh Festival.

‘Regeneration’ was nominated for:- Three awards at the Evening Standard Film Awards 1998- Best Film at the South Bank Show Awards 1998- The Outstanding British Film of The Year at the 1998 BAFTAs

Out of Los Angeles and New York she produced ‘Movie Legends in conversation’ for the US broadcaster A & E. The series involved filming the conversation between admiring colleagues: Roger Corman with Jonathan Demme, William Goldman with Nora Ephron, Kathleen Turner with John Waters, Whoopi Goldberg with Herb Ross, Samuel Goldwyn Jr with Mike Medavoy, Penny Marshall with Paul Schrader.

In 2013 she was commissioned to write a screenplay for the movie ‘Kalima’ set in early Arabia, to be filmed in the Middle East. Executive Producer is Iain Smith and the Producer is Oscar Zoghbi.

2014 saw her adapting the novel by Adrianne Roy 'Do you know who I am?' into a screenplay. Set in 1940's Cyprus and the Greek Cypriot community of East London in the 1960's. The Producers are J.Todd Harris (The Kids are Alright) and Chantelle de Carvalho (The Hatching). The director is Jason Connery (Tommy's Honour, The Philly Kid).

She has recently been commissioned by Miami based Producer Jim Bigham to write the screenplay of their award winning documentary 'For Once In My Life'. This will be set in Miami and based on the experience of Javier Pena, whilst the Music Director of Miami’s Goodwill Band.

Saskia has been invited to lecture, for the last four years years, at York St John University and Coventry University for the film degree and MA students.

Saskia has always loved the work of her Godfather Craigie Aitcheson RA and had his popular bird and star animated as her company logo for the Channel Four TV series 'World of Herbs’.She sees his paintings as a representation of the passion she has for her own work.